WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced that it has reached a
settlement agreement resolving the Department’s lawsuit alleging sexual
discrimination and retaliation in employment against the Escambia County, Ala.,
Board of Education.

The government’s lawsuit, filed in March 2005, alleged violations of Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the board
engaged in unlawful employment discrimination by subjecting Betty J. Hooks, a
former custodial employee, to a sexually hostile work environment and
retaliated against her by terminating her employment for complaining about what
she reasonable believed to be sexual harassment against her. Hooks joined the
government’s lawsuit as a plaintiff-intervenor.

“There is no excuse for sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Wan J. Kim,
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice
Department is committed to making certain that all employees are treated
equally according to law.”

The proposed consent decree, which must be approved by the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of Alabama, Southern Division, requires the Escambia
County Board of Education to provide a total of $165,000 in compensation to Ms.
Hooks, including $62,000 in attorneys fees for her private counsel; adopt
procedures to ensure that all complaints of sexual harassment are properly
investigated; ensure that its sexual harassment policy is distributed to all
current employees and is posted in all buildings of the school district;
provide new employees with a copy of the policy and require their signed
acknowledgment of its existence; and provide training to all of its employees
regarding Title VII’s prohibition against sexual harassment.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department
is available on its website at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/.